EA has said that its newly announced online digital and social service Origin isn’t a rival platform to Vale’s Steam.

Speaking to IndustryGamers, EA senior vice president of Global Online David DeMartini said that his company didn’t see Origin and Steam as an either/or choice.

"Just because a gamer chooses to play Battlefield 3 doesn't preclude them from playing another shooter game, just as the fact that I'm on Facebook doesn't mean I don't also use LinkedIn,” he said.

“We expect people will purchase content and utilize both Origin and Steam. We've learned a lot from Steam, they have been good partners. We will continue to listen to our customers, expand the social feature set, and will make Origin the best service on the market.”

EA has said that Origin will launch with 150 titles, including exclusive rights to Star Wars: The Old Republic.

The company is expected to reveal more information about the service in its E3 press conference later today.